Starlink alternative: Telekom participates in the EU satellite project IRIS²

Deutsche Telekom is participating in the European program for near-Earth satellites IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security via Satellite). The company announced this on Thursday. The system initiated by the European Commission will comprise 282 satellites in various orbits and the associated ground segment to enable Internet and mobile communications connections. The satellite network, which is being developed in cooperation between the public sector and private companies, should be operational by 2030. The aim is to establish a powerful, secure and independent communications network, in a sense a European alternative to Starlink. In this way, Europe's technological sovereignty is to be strengthened.

According to a press release, Deutsche Telekom is participating in the project with its core areas of connectivity and IT infrastructure. The subject of the contract is the design of advanced IT and data center services, secure networks (WAN) and a 5G core network. The satellite network is intended to support numerous areas of application in the future, including surveillance, civil protection, crisis management and the protection of critical infrastructure in Europe. "Our continent needs connectivity that is both secure and modern," says Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom.

Development of an independent European satellite network

The European Commission awarded the contract for IRIS² to the European consortium SpaceRISE at the end of last year. The consortium comprises the three European satellite network operators SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat. The most important partners include Deutsche Telekom, the French telecommunications group Orange and the Bremen-based space company OHB. The project is expected to cost a total of around eleven billion euros. The lion's share, around seven billion euros, will come from the EU; four billion euros will come from the private sector.

The EU is increasingly seeking European options for commercial and military satellite communication to become less dependent on US satellite operators and, in particular, on billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet. This is due to growing concerns about technological and security policy dependence, particularly on Washington, but also on Beijing.

In mid-2022, the French satellite operator Eutelsat and the British-Indian satellite internet company OneWeb agreed on a merger. For example, the EU Commission is offering Ukraine Eutelsat as an alternative to Starlink for securing capacity for satellite communication. Recently, a surprising change of leadership at the top of Eutelsat made headlines. In addition, the takeover of the Luxembourg satellite operator Intelsat by its competitor SES is becoming more concrete. There has been a lot of movement on the satellite market.

(akn)